The archived blog of the Project On Government Oversight (POGO).

Feb 17, 2012

POGO Joins Representatives in Support of Whistleblower Army Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis

By DANA LIEBELSON

Today, POGO sent a letter to six congressional committees, urging them to hold hearings based on Army Lieutenant Colonel Davis’s recent allegations about the war in Afghanistan. Davis has alleged that senior military officials have deceived American public and Congress about conditions on the ground.

POGO’s letter joins the chorus of bipartisan coalition of representatives, who sent a similar letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on February 14. The signatories of that letter included Representatives Walter Jones (R-NC), Jimmy Duncan (R-TN), Jim McGovern (D-MA), John Garamendi (D-CA), Timothy Johnson (R-IL) and Barbara Lee (D-CA,).

POGO’s letter—which has been sent to the Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence committees in the House and Senate—requests hearings on Davis' disclosures, and also calls for the declassification of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Afghanistan, a document prepared by the Director of National Intelligence.

It is important for the public to see how this report from the intelligence community, [the NIE] matches up with Davis' allegations. It should be declassified, as other NIEs have been in the past…Congress must pay attention when a whistleblower comes forward with credible evidence that Congress may be misinformed, particularly when the stakes are this high.Lt. Col. Davis’s disclosures should be a catalyst for conducting effective oversight of the war in Afghanistan.